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Food Safety Matters

Food Safety Matters

By: Food Safety Magazine
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Food Safety Matters is a podcast for food safety professionals hosted by the Food Safety Magazine editorial team – the leading media brand in food safety for over 20 years. Each episode will feature a conversation with a food safety professional sharing their experiences and insights into the important job of safeguarding the world's food supply.2025 Food Safety Magazine Art Food & Wine Natural History Nature & Ecology Science
Episodes
  • Live from the 2026 Food Safety Summit—Part 2

    Live from the 2026 Food Safety Summit—Part 2
    May 21 2026

    To get a taste of the discussions that were happening at the 2026 Food Safety Summit, we spoke face-to-face with Roberta Wagner, M.Sc., Senior Vice President of Regulatory and Scientific Affairs for the International Dairy Foods Association (IDFA); Steven Mandernach, J.D., Executive Director of the Association of Food and Drug Officials (AFDO) and Sandra Eskin, J.D., CEO of STOP Foodborne Illness; Jacob Nelson, Asset Protection Sales Manager at the Sherwin-Williams Company and Feraas Aiameh, Food and Beverage Marketing Manager at the Sherwin-Williams Company; Conrad Choiniere, Ph.D., Director of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's (FDA's) Office of Microbiological Food Safety, Vanessa Coffman, Ph.D., Director of the Alliance to Stop Foodborne Illness, and Lone Jespersen, Ph.D., Founder and Principal of Cultivate SA; and Cindy Jiang, Senior Director, Global Food Safety Risk Management, Global Supply Chain at McDonald's (retired).

    In this episode of Food Safety Matters, we speak with:

    • Ms. Wagner about food ingredient safety and labeling trends, policy developments, and risk communication [2:48]
    • Mr. Mandernach and Ms. Eskin about progress and gaps in the implementation of FDA's Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) in the 15 years since it was passed [26:19]
    • Mr. Nelson and Mr. Aiameh about a facility lifecycle approach to food safety [47:37]
    • Drs. Choiniere, Coffman, and Jespersen about perspectives, challenges, and opportunities related food safety culture across sectors [1:16:42]
    • Ms. Jiang about practical applications for artificial intelligence (AI) in food safety. [1:44:37]

    Sponsored by: Sherwin Williams

    We Want to Hear from You!

    Please send us your questions and suggestions to podcast@food-safety.com
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    2 hrs and 8 mins
  • Live from the 2026 Food Safety Summit—Part 1

    Live from the 2026 Food Safety Summit—Part 1
    May 19 2026

    To get a taste of the discussions that were happening at the 2026 Food Safety Summit, we spoke face-to-face with Jeremy Zenlea, M.B.A., Vice President and Head of Health and Safety for EG America and Laurie Farmer, Director of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's (FDA's) Office of Retail Food Protection; David Clifford, M.B.A., Director of Food Safety at Nestlé USA and Sara Mortimore, M.Sc., Founder of Sara Mortimore LLC and formerly Vice President for Food Safety at Walmart; Frank Curto, Ph.D., Vice President of Operations at Ecowize North America; and Drew McDonald, Senior Vice President of Quality, Food Safety, and Regulatory Affairs for Taylor Fresh Foods and Conrad Choiniere, Ph.D., Director of FDA's Office of Microbiological Food Safety.

    In this episode of Food Safety Matters, we speak with:

    • Mr. Zenlea and Ms. Farmer about issues related to retail/foodservice food safety, including the intersection of sanitation and culture, FDA's Comprehensive Employee Health Toolkit, and utilizing employee health policies to reduce norovirus risk [3:06]
    • Mr. Clifford and Ms. Mortimore about the process and benefits of digitalizing Hazards Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP) programs [21:46]
    • Dr. Curto about building an "audit-ready everyday" food safety culture [42:31]
    • Mr. McDonald and Dr. Choiniere about data sharing within organizations and across sectors. [1:00:04]

    Sponsored by: Ecowize

    We Want to Hear from You!

    Please send us your questions and suggestions to podcast@food-safety.com
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    1 hr and 27 mins
  • Ep. 217. Larry Keener: Learnings From an Award-Winning Career in Food Safety

    Ep. 217. Larry Keener: Learnings From an Award-Winning Career in Food Safety
    May 12 2026
    Larry Keener, CFS, PA is President and CEO of International Product Safety Consultants Inc. and an internationally regarded microbiologist and process authority in the food industry. His areas of expertise range from applied food microbiology to the development and application of novel preservation technologies. Mr. Keener is a 2013 Fellow of the Institute of Food Technologists (IFT), a Board Certified Food Scientist by the International Food Science Certification Commission, and a 2018 recipient of an International Union of Food Science and Technology's (IUFoST's) lifetime achievement award for his work in microbiology and food safety. He is also the recipient of Food Safety Magazine's 2026 Distinguished Service Award. He is a past president of IFT's Nonthermal Processing Division and a two-term past president of Tuskegee University's Food and Nutrition Sciences Advisory Board. He is also a past co-chair and founding member of the Global Harmonization Initiative (GHI). Additionally, Mr. Keener is a 2022 inductee to the George Washington Carver Society and has received numerous other awards and honors. In this episode of Food Safety Matters, we speak with Larry [40:37] about: The beginnings of his career in food safety and formative experiences that shaped his understanding of the field and his future workImportant contributions Larry has made to the food safety field, and concepts his research and publications have helped advanceThe advantages of food safety professionals and scientists sharing knowledge and engaging in conversations, such as those facilitated by Food Safety MagazineWhich risk assessment, regulatory, and technological developments have made the biggest difference in improving food safety outcomes over the yearsThe underappreciation of food irradiation as a viable food safety intervention, which Larry will discuss during his session at the 2026 Food Safety Summit, titled, "Food Irradiation Today: What's Allowed, Where, and Why?"Advice for early-career food safety professionals to "learn the business" and drive value. News and Resources News USDA Announces Reorganization of Food Safety and Inspection Service [4:24] Federal Preemption of State Food Safety Laws Debated During Congressional Hearing [10:42]Congress to Hold Legislative Hearing on 28 Active Bills Related to Food Safety, FDA FRESH Act Aims to Preempt State Food Safety Laws, Proposes Controversial GRAS Reforms Bill Reintroduced to Allow FDA to Share Information with State Agencies During Foodborne Illness Outbreaks FDA Testing Shows U.S. Infant Formula is Safe, with Undetectable or Very Low Chemical Contamination [23:32] WHO Estimates a $46 Return for Every $1 Investment in National Foodborne Disease Surveillance [29:42] Study Finds Cold Plasma Treatment Reduces Peanut Allergenicity [36:29] Resources Larry Keener to be Honored with Food Safety Magazine's 2026 Distinguished Service Award We Want to Hear from You! Please send us your questions and suggestions to podcast@food-safety.com
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    1 hr and 16 mins
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